WASHINGTON — U.S. Park Police have identified, and are looking for, the man they believe responsible for an assault on an officer that prompted a police shooting during an attempted traffic stop last Wednesday.
Michael Burnett Jr., 25, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, is accused of ramming a car into a police cruiser and injuring an officer’s leg.
“He did suffer some minor injuries. He’s okay now, thank God,” said U.S. Park Police Officer Ana Rose of the officer.
Burnett is the subject of several auto theft investigations in Prince George’s County, Maryland, Rose said.
In the incident last week, Rose said the officer attempted to pull over a Dodge charger in Southeast Washington near Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Talbert Terrace shortly before 4 a.m., following it into an alley.
That’s when the car accelerated backwards, Rose said, and hit the driver’s side door of the police cruiser.
“At which point our officer fired at the car,” Rose said. “He was pinned in and his life was in danger.”
The charger sped away, and the officer was unable to follow, Rose said.
The officer is on administrative leave pending an internal investigation, which happens after all uses of force, Rose said.
